Blood on the highway

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jasonl

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A while back there was a thread about movie projectors and the gory films that sometimes ran through them at driver's ed classes. Well, take a trip back to high school on the Prelinger archives. Just type Driver's Ed in the search and click.... if you dare. Signal 30 and Wheels of Tragedy are there ready to download. I was never exposed to this horror in driver's ed but I know alot of people were back then. Maybe they should do modern versions of kids in rice burners after they've been weaving in and out of traffic and they finally slam into that 18-wheeler (just like the 2 guys in WoT).

My dad has always told me of the horrific films he had to see in truck driver school.

This ain't Reality Television, this is REALITY. Blurry, grainy, scratchy film with bloody bodies on the screen all done to a monotone voiced narrator and sad music. If that ain't enough to make you drive courteously I don't know what will.
 
I know firsthand...

Last October (the 26th to be exact) one of our Seniors (that I knew even...actually my school is so small I know most of them but that is beside the point) who was pretty well-off and drove a custom Honda Civic coupe (gullwing doors, performance exhaust, turbocharger, 20" rims, the whole rice-burner treatment...it was pretty bada**), was coming back from Sealy when his hat blew out of the windo. He turned around to get it--TWICE. On the second time, a Wal-Mart 18-wheeler was coming in the opposite direction, he wasn't looking, and it slammed into him. He died later in a Houston hospital, and guess what? NO SEATBELT. I guess people in these cars think they're invincible or something, but that is far from reality as they're nothing but plastic and glass. Just goes to show you, it can happen to anyone when you least expect it...and this was definitely unexpected for all of us.

--Austin
 
I have nothing against "rice burners" with their customizations but I hate the attitude and the way that some people drive them (weaving, tailgating, etc.).

Sorry to hear about that though. I knew a few people in HS that got killed in a wreck.
 
I have to take Defensive Driving AGAIN

And in "some" DD classes, they still show some of these old driving movies...Usually I opt out to go to the Comedy Club and watch old Johnny Carson tapes (TX version of "Comedy Defensive Driving")

Maybe they should show some of these young folks what happens to people in motor accidents: www.rotten.com (Warning: NOT for the squeamish!!!)
Please, no hate mail to me about that site. It is VERY disgusting what can happen to people in accidents. But it is reality. If you like the Death series vids, you will like rotten.com.

Togs, riceburners run amouk down here. They race on the freeways, and my daughter will NEVER date someone who has one.

I've said too much already...
 
We have at least one teen highway tragedy here in the Atlanta every week. I think the school systems here have more grief counselors than anywhere else in the country. Driving age should be 21, or any teen that commits a crime in a car should be charged as an adult.
 
There was a big ruckus recently about *another* group of youngsters in the area who had an accident, with alcohol involved and no seatbelts. *Several* cases of accidents within the last year or so. And yes, there were deaths in more than one of the incidents. There was a big fuss after the last one because the youngsters' web pages on MySpace.com came to attention. One girl whose sister was killed had a "tribute" pic of said sister holding a bottle.

I know of a fellow who was in several wrecks when he was high-schooler 20-some-odd years ago. Had plastic surgery to correct facial injuries after one of the accidents. Didn't learn. Did it AGAIN. Now he's principal at one of the schools, what an example to set for the children.
 
They should arrest reckless drivers and force them to watch and hear Signal 30 over an overhead tv screen 24/7 until they are straight. Especially the last half where you can hear the victims screaming and crying. Onstar commercials are tame compared to this.

No airbags, no seatbelts and that big steering wheel just waiting to impale you. Gives a new meaning to the word "IMPALA"
 
Have any of you all heard the latest Volkswagen ad's on the radio? They are making fun of the "ricers" that customize the little hatchbacks and such. One of the commercials, it sounds like an interview. They ask the kid how fast the two-foot wide wing on the back really makes the car go, they also ask him how fast the ground skirts make it go. Hehehe the end result of the commecrial was that the VW's will blow the doors off the jap cars, and do it much more subtly!

The problem that BOTH the VW's and most of the jap cars have is that you cannot turn and go fast at the same time because the cars are front-wheel drive! If a driver applies (too much) power in a FWD car while going through a turn, the vehicle will start sliding towards the outside of the turn. This is because the front wheels are both steering and powering the vehicle. When the addition of power overcomes the traction ability of the tires, the tires also loose their ability to steer the car too!

A rear-drive car will actually turn towards the inside of the turn (watch some dirt-track racing sometime) If too much power is applied, the vehicle will just spin out and stop in the middle of the road. This is because the powered wheels will push against the steered wheels. One of the reasons why I think FWD is potientally dangerous for lead-footed teenagers, and why a RWD vehicle is inherently safer.

For a real sports car nut, they laugh at the front-drive rice rocket fad because of this issue, and because of another issue. When trying to accellerate in a straight line drag-style, weight shifts to the rear of the vehicle. This reduces traction effort on the front of the car, and causes the tires to spin. Spinning tires, while it looks flashy, is not what you want. It means lost power that could be used to move the vehicle forward!

One thing the "ricers" have it right though, and that's power to weight. To make a car go fast, you can either put more power in it, or you can take weight out of it...or do both and go REALLY fast...

Trying to modify an economy car like a Honda Civic however is really the wrong way to do it. Most kids that get into "rice rockets" don't have any clue that practically the entire car will need to be rebuilt in order to withstand the additional power. Unlike modifying old American rides by just throwing on a bigger carb and a dual exhaust system, the little motors powering these cars are already dialed up pretty darned good. They are also not built to withstand any more juice. Installing fart-can exhaust pipes or modifying the intake actually SLOWS many of these vehicles down because it fouls up all the tuning the FACTORY did! If you actually luck out and do get more power out the engine...it won't be long before you blow one of the connecting rods through the crankcase.

There are many lightweight rides out there, many from Japanes companies that are DESIGNED for tweaking and customizing. The Mazda Miata, the Nissan 240Z, and the Toyota MR2 come to mind right off. Oddly enough, these cars don't command anywhere near the hype the front drive Civics and Mitsubishis do for some odd reason!
 
bloody films

I had to watch those in driver's ed in the early 70's....yes, they are bloody, gory and real. And then I had to watch them again when I started to work at C&P Telephone (now part of Verizon). Yes, they made an impact. Some of the scenes I can still visualize.....
 
another sobering thought

and who among us remembers the classic Ann Lander's column where the teenage boy speaks from the grave after being in a car accident..."I am too young to die"....(I think is what she named the column). It has been repeated many years. I saw it the first time it was printed...on a rainy day when I was going to be allowed to drive to school for the first time in our brand new AMC Hornet (no snickering allowed). My parents saw the column that morning, too. I rode the bus that day...
 
how does the driving system work in the US?

Here in australia when you begin driving you first have to get a book that explains all the different traffic situations and how to respond to them. Then you have to go into the licensing center and take a computerised test on the book, if you pass that you become a 'learner' driver.
From then on you must learn to drive your car with an instructer beside you and you may not exceed certain speed limits, at no time should you drive alone. When you feel confident enough you then book a practical test. If you pass that (which is hard) then you become a Learner Phase Two driver where you can drive on freeways.
During this phase you must log 25 hours of supervised driving in a range of situations (wet, night, freeway). After you have clocked up 25 hours (took me 6 months) you can then go and take another computer test on hazard perception and if you pass that you become a P plate driver, you can now drive alone but cannot be caught with a blood alcohol level of more than 0.02%.
All in all it took me a year and a half to become a P plate driver, i have to remain on P plates for two years before i can go for my full license. I think its a good system because i personally feel better after having so much supervised experience.
What are the systems in place for learner drivers in other countries?
Matt (yes that is me in the pic, next to my beautiful Holden Astra, proudly sporting a P plate, finally)
 
Matt, here in the US it can vary from state to state. When I got my license a few years ago here in Iowa, the system was set up such that at age 14 you could get your learner's permit to drive under adult supervision with restrictions as long as you had passed the written test and attended driver's ed training, usually facilitated by the school system during the summer. This also included driving around with an instructor and a couple students along for the ride, and the classic classroom simulator where they would fire up the 16mm projector tied to all the "cars" in the room. Believe it or not there were those who just couldn't master braking or turning and they were doomed to repeat the class. Assuming you managed to stay accident free for two years, at 16 you were eligible to drive alone (though now there are all sorts of restrictions on hours, passengers, etc.) if you passed the DOT test. Depending on the day of the week you went to the DOT station, you may or may not have had to perform a driving test as well. And that's pretty much it from there. The true test was always the first snow where the roads would turn to ice; mother nature had a way of sorting out those who knew how to drive and those who didn't : ) For a while I was piloting a full-size conversion van to school. Talk about parallel parking!

By the way, I have a P magnet like yours on my fridge from my '04 trip to Australia! -Cory
 
If you're over 18 years old, here in the USA getting a driver's license, well, at least in Virginia is pretty easy! All you need to do is remember a few drunk driving stat's, and then drive your vehicle around the block on a short (usually under 1 mile) trip.
Anybody can get a driver's license...even illegal aliens!

It shows too, many people here in the USA are not even qualified to drive a tricycle around the back yard!
 
Its not like that in all states here either

In Queensland, it works as follows:

At 16.5 you sit a written test to obtain your learners permit, this means that you must drive with a passenger who holds an open license and you must display L plates. You must maintain a sub .02% BAC at all times. You have 4 demerit points, for each point you loose, it takes 2 years to get it back.

At 17 you undertake a practical driving test, if you pass you obtain a provisional license. This means that you can drive by yourself, however a sub .02% BAC must be maintained. You still have 4 demerit points and it still takes 2 years to get them back if lost.

At 20 your Provisional License expires and you obtain an Unrestricted License when you renew. This allows a BAC of .05% and no other restrictions. You now have 12 points.

In Victoria in 80's, they had a series of accident ads on TV that make that stuff from the 50's look tame.

Picture a car hurtling along a country road, small child in the back, (No Seatbelt) father driving, and Mother as the passenger. He doesnt stop at a stop sign, gets hit by a prime mover, the child goes through the windscreen leaving 1 arm behind and ends up on the side of the road, the women ends up with glass in her throat (Close up shot) and dies, all that it to be seen of the father is his mangled remains in the front of the prime mover. All of this is up close, covered in blood and totally shocking. These were on TV every night in the 6-8.30pm timeslot.

Since living in Queensland, the quality of such shock tactic ads has decreased. Two that still spring to mind are of a Motorcyclist comming of his bike in the wet, and then watching him be moved and then die, looking outwards through his visor. THe other is a family holiday, where the Father wont "Stop, Revive, Survive" and ends up through a bridge in a river, and his 3 girls drown in the car.

Nothing I've ever seen, (And this includes those 50's drivers ed movies) come close to the Horror that VicRoads had on TV every night during the 80's. As child I used to cover my eyes when they'd come on, because it was too awfull to watch. But it made you hound your parents when you thought they were doing the wrong thing.
 

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